I use the personal shopper at Nordstrom to solve this problem. There is no cost and he or she usually knows what will fit the bill.

Oh, I just remembered my mother's favorite men's store, it was in Chicago, Mark Shale, I think. She loved that place. I imagine it's long gone.

I have good luck with Wrangler jeans fitting me. I always buy the same size and they always fit me the same. I like the carpenter style with the hammer loop on one leg and duel pockets on the other that I put my phone in.

My husband wears Levi's 501 and they are quite consistent. He wears 34x36. He has half a dozen pairs.

Men's Wrangler jeans are made for men with relatively flat butts, which I do not have. However, Lady Wrangler jeans fit me perfectly (except for length), or at least they did in the 1970s.

I haven't worn jeans in the past 25 years, and I tend to wear cargo pants instead or khaki slacks, which I find much more comfortable than jeans.

I made my own jeans in the 1990s and used a softer material than denim. This way I could get them to fit me exactly the way I wanted.

You might also try Lee jeans. I had a pair of those in the 1970s. I mostly bought jeans at thrift stores because I didn't like new denim. The softened denim is also easier to alter. You might be able to find a selection at a thrift store to try for cheap.

Men's Wrangler jeans are made for men with relatively flat butts.

That's me!

So many jeans makers to choose from these days! Not sure about Levis 541, but styles do change and some manufacturers have certain fits that they change with the trends.

Of course you can't rule out body changes too.

I like Gap jeans. Not sure about mens, but they have some 100% cotton jeans for women.

I would definitely shop around. Not much stays the same any more and there's no sense in sticking to just one brand if you don't need to.

Zalco, for a while Mark Shale had women's clothes, too. Well-made, tailored, nice fabrics, and just like their men's clothes, alterations were free. It's where I learned that a little tuck taken at the back at the waistband made all the difference in how my pants fit.

Bpath, Omigosh, you are right. I had a several gorgeous skirts from there come to think of it. The kind of skirt it killed me to part with. My mother really loved that store. We had one in Dallas at the Galleria for a while too. I didn't tend to buy my own clothes until I was married practically. My mother did all my shopping and I looked far more stylish under her direction. There was also a store called Asia House in Chicago my mother loved, funny, she always said Chicago was not one of her favorite cities, yet the shopping and architecture always enthralled her. I love Chicago. Sorry, going very far OT :-)

That's the opposite of what hubby found. He'd go shopping with me, and always said he'd hate to be a woman. Our sizes are all over the map.

Whereas he can go to any store.....WM, Costco, etc and buy his shirts and jeans off the rack without needing to try them on.

My experience is similar but much broader - pick three items of the same model, size and of the same brand. Try them on. Rarely will they all be identical in "size". Shirts, shoes, pants, cotton swim trunks, jackets, hats, all even of the exact same type and make are often variable. It's been like that for as long I can remember. Try one on. It's a little too large? Try another that's "identical". It may fit better.

“and waist AT the waist.”

Good luck with that. Embrace the plumber’s crack.

DH has been buying the same Levi 501’s for as long as I remember without much issue.

Another topic but I remember a day years ago (circa late 70’s) when he bought 5 pairs of 501’s at the Rose Bowl swap meet. They were $10 each and we both thought $50 for 5 pairs was no bargain. The good ole days!

Cloebud Your $10 is about $44.77 today so that would be $223.85 for those five pairs of pants. I chose 1978.

Since I am a sewist, I have another angle to this question. Many companies will cut several pair at a time. Then they will vary from top to bottom. I know from experience; it has happened to me also. I learn to only cut one at time and solved that problem. What I am saying is the top cut outs may be the correct size the bottom are slightly larger. They will not hold the true size cutting too many at a time.

Levis were valuable currency in post Soviet Russia.

Do you think the place where they are made may contribute?

I have a large knee-wall attic and have boxes of men’s made in USA Levis 550 and 501 jeans of variouis size, many new, packed into them. All cotton, no elastic synthetic material, mostly boot or straight cut, maany classic, not pre-washed; but somempre-washed, some stone washed. Sizes between W 32 to 34” and Length ~ 3- to 34” .

I should sell them along w my 3 boxes or real leggos. I don’t want a bunch nof strangers coming to my home. Maybe I should bundel them all together.

How to sell? I am not opposed to getting some cash for them.

Not sure if anyone else noticed, but the trend had been for looser fits and more stretch fabrics since the pandemic, with more and more people wanting comfort. I feel like we're going back to the 90s with oversized shirts and pants coming back in. Fine by me 😃

At the same time there's the cropped tops and, more body con styles for the young folks...

P.S. There's also a trend away from specific sizes toward simple small, medium, large, x large, and so on.

Petalique, I have no idea if Levis retain any value today. I would rather doubt it. The post Soviet era was unique, and Lavi's, like Apple products, are designed in California, made elsewhere.

Look at the tag. I had purchased 2 pair of Gloria Vanderbilt capri jeans. Exactly the same, but one fit, the other didn't. I talked to my friend who used to be a buyer from Winkleman's and she said look at the tag and where it was made. Sure enough one was made in India and one made in Indonesia! I was surprised.

Garment sizing can be whatever a manufacturer chooses it to be, and it's been that way for a long time. Back in the 80s, I used to work for a company that made motorcycle leathers and their women's small was a 36" bust.

"their women's small was a 36" bust."

Perhaps they knew their target market well. I've seen some pretty hefty people on motorcycles (both male and female) and maybe among that crowd, this measurement is on the smaller side?

Wear socks & BYO hand sanitizer...

Ha-ha, carolb! I was exaggerating. DH isn't one of those guys with stinky shoes; he wears socks. (Why do men think 'sockless' is somehow 'cool'?)

😄

FWIW, I've witnessed more females than males go sockless in closed shoes - yuck!

Chisue, why not just order a bunch from Amazon, try on at home and return what does not suit you?

^I'd try what Zalco suggested since Amazon returns are so easy. I just received 3 pairs of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans from Amazon. All are the same size...8 Long that can sometimes be hard to find. The fit is exactly the same for all 3. No returns!

I'll have to try me some of those Gloria Vanderbilt jeans :-p

I thought we were talking about men's jeans?

And Chisue, you never know when your hubby might need to hang a hammer. Beats dropping it on the ground and having to pick it up again!

FWIW, I would love to find a pair of what we used to call painters' pants in the 70s - unbleached, lightweight 100% cotton, straight wide legs, with utility pockets and a loop on the side. Now everything's cargo pants in heavyweight fabrics and rarely are they all cotton. I do like cargo pockets. They're perfect for my phone when I'm working, but I want lightweight and it's been impossible to find.

LoneJack, I‘m guessing you’d be happier sticking with Wranglers.😊 I don’t think the fit issue is specific to Levis. It can happen with different brands, including women’s. I mentioned mine since they just arrived yesterday. The men’s 501’s I’ve ordered for DH have been fine, although it’s been awhile. BTW, he also likes Wranglers but the ”regular” fit. Anyway, I just thought Zalco had a good suggestion for chisue.

Chloebud - I think the carpenter pants are the same as the regular fit but they just have the extra pockets on the right leg and hammer loop on the left. I could be wrong since I am a male and don't spend any time analyzing the choices. I find my size in the style I want and off I go to the checkout. I don't even try them on when I get home anymore...I pull the tags off and wash them.

LoneJack, I'm sure you're right about the fit with the two styles. DH does the same as you...pulls off the tags, washes and wears. They often remain in a drawer with the tags on for a fairly long time. The fit for him with both Levis and Wranglers has been very consistent.

I know this is an old thread but...

You can buy genuine Painter's Pants. Dickies are 100% cotton, 8.75 oz twill. Wrangler also has them but poly/ cotton blend.

FWIW, painter's pants and carpenter's pants are essentially the same.

I thought painter's pants were white and then turned multi-colored over time. :-p

I got a new phone when I retired a few months ago and it won't fit in the leg pocket of my Wranglers carpenter pants. I had to order a couple pairs of Dickies.

Didn’t realize this was an old thread before looking up 541 jeans. After reading Chisue’s complaint that one pair ”is baggy in the seat and thigh,” I was amused to read Levi’s description saying they give you more room in the thigh and seat. 🙂

I have never found that any jeans fit the same way twice. For women too. I bought a wonderful pair at Madewell, and I liked them so much, I bought another pair in a different wash. Same size and all. When they came, they were way too big. I returned them to the store and was told that different washes have different fits. Who would think?

Old Thread for sure, but we're all still *here*!

DH is currently wearing Lee Extreme Motion Slim Fit Straight Leg blue jeans and one pair the same style in non-denim khakis. I hadn't seen these before this year. They're made with a wide elastic insert at the waist.

Unfortunately, IMO, these are only 71% cotton; too much elastine. They have way too much 'give' for my liking. I look for 98% cotton in my Vanderbilt 4-Short jeans.

Sizing remains a curious science. I'm returning a pair of size 4 pants to Talbot's; no size 2's available. I did score some of their nice pima cotton short sleve tees for $15. (I was going to say 'on sale', but when isn't Talbot's having a sale!)

chisue - I sympathize with the jeans situation. I find it difficult to find something perfect, too, and elastic material has NOT been a desirable solution. Everyone knows what my butt looks like.

Have you considered altering a pair? Find something that’s close, not too tight anywhere, and finding a taylor who will do jeans? It’ll add cost of course, but I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that your husband isn’t wearing through jeans quickly at this point?

For 100% cotton jeans made like they were in the past, have you tried secondhand/thrifted yet?

Last year, I found a pair of my favorite 100% cotton cargo pants I had bought years ago, it was on eBay and in my size and for less than original price too.

I wear mostly cargo shorts because I love the pockets, and I never use the back hip pockets, but I do use the side pockets a lot.

Yesterday, I neglected to take everything out of all of my pockets at the airport for security screening, and I ended up getting groped by the security guard. He asked me if I wanted to go to a special room for him to do this, but I told him I didn't are where he did it. I think my underwear was part of the problem.